Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus:Flavian Signature Edition (21 page)

"Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  

"But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize [it].  

'And if it bears fruit, [well]. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”

Luke 13:6-9

But Titus, intending to pitch his camp nearer to the city than Scopus, placed as many of his choice horsemen and footmen as he thought sufficient opposite to the Jews, to prevent their sallying out upon them, while he gave orders for the whole army to level the distance, as far as the wall of the city.

So they threw down all the hedges and walls which the inhabitants had made about their gardens and groves of trees, and cut down all the fruit trees that lay between them and the wall of the city …

Wars of the Jews
  5, 3, 106-107

25) The narrow gate and the shut door

Luke then describes a “narrow gate” and the shutting of the door by the “Master”, followed by the points of the compass.

And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  

Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,

"Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  

"When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,'  

"then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  

"But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  

"There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  

"They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  

"And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."  

Luke 13:22-30

Josephus also describes the “narrow gate” that has been shut by the “Master of the house,” and the points of the compass.

So Caesar … considered with himself how he might be even with the Jews for their stratagem.

And now when the space between the Romans and the wall had been leveled, which was done in four days, and as he was desirous to bring the baggage of the army, with the rest of the multitude that followed him, safely to the camp, he set the strongest part of his army over against that wall which lay on the north quarter of the city, and over against the western part of it, and made his army seven deep,

with the footmen placed before them, and the horsemen behind them, each of the last in three ranks, whilst the archers stood in the midst in seven ranks.

And now as the Jews were prohibited, by so great a body of men, from making sallies upon the Romans, both the beasts that bare the burdens, and belonged to the three legions, and the rest of the multitude, marched on without any fear.

But as for Titus himself, he was but about two furlongs distant from the wall, at that part of it where was the corner and over against that tower which was called Psephinus, at which tower the compass of the wall belonging to the north bended, and extended itself over against the west;

but the other part of the army fortified itself at the tower called Hippicus, and was distant, in like manner, by two furlongs from the city.

However, the tenth legion continued in its own place, upon the Mount of Olives.

Wars of the Jews,
5, 3, 128-135

Luke and Josephus follow the obvious typological linkages above, with one that is more conceptual.  They each give a description of Jerusalem just before the “triumphal entrance” of the son of Man.

26) How to build a tower

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has [enough] to finish [it -- ]  

"lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see [it] begin to mock him, 

"saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' ”

Luke 14: 28-30

Titus went round the wall looking for the best place to build a tower

Wars of the Jews
, 5, 6, 258

27) Send a delegation

"Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 

"Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.”  

Luke 14:31-32

… Josephus … attempted to discourse to those that were upon the wall, about terms of peace …

Wars of the Jews
, 5, 6, 261

INSIDE THE CITY

28) The triumphal entrance and the stones that cried out

Luke then describes Jesus beginning his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. In the passage, Luke describes “stones” that “cry out,” and then that which was “hidden from the eyes”.

And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.

And as He went, [many] spread their clothes on the road.

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,

saying: " 'Blessed [is] the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ "

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."

But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,

saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things [that make] for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Luke 19: 35-42

Josephus then describes Titus’ “triumphant entrance” into Jerusalem.  In other words, Josephus describes Titus’ “entrance” into the city, which were the stones hurled by catapults. In the passage, Josephus made an apparent mistake writing the “Son Cometh” rather than the “Stone Cometh”. Though the apparent error has puzzled scholars, this analysis makes the satirical and typological meaning of Josephus’ “error” clear.  Notice that Josephus first describes “the coming of the stone”, then a stone that “cries out,” and finally he recorded that the “son/stone” was “hidden from your (the Jews’) eyes”. It is amusing that in Whiston’s translation below he inadvertently, but correctly, captures the real meaning of Josephus’ wordplay concerning “stones crying out” with his phrase - “
and the stone came from it, and cried out aloud”.
In other words, the Greek statement can be logically read in two ways; one way is just as Jesus predicted – the stones cried out. Notice also, that what the stones would “cry out” in the Gospels, was the true identity of the son of God. This is exactly what Josephus recorded the “stone” did in the passage below.

The sequence of concepts in this passage creates a clearly obvious typological connection to the “stones that cried out” passage in Luke 19 when viewed from this new perspective.

The engines, that all the legions had ready prepared for them, were admirably contrived; but still more extraordinary ones belonged to the tenth legion: those that threw darts and those that threw stones were more forcible and larger than the rest, by which they not only repelled the excursions of the Jews, but drove those away that were upon the walls also.

Now the stones that were cast were of the weight of a talent, and were carried two furlongs and further. The blow they gave was no way to be sustained, not only by those that stood first in the way, but by those that were beyond them for a great space.

As for the Jews, they at first watched the coming of the stone, for it was of a white color, and could therefore not only be perceived by the great noise it made, but could be seen also before it came by its brightness;

accordingly the watchmen that sat upon the towers gave them notice when the engine was let go, and the stone came from it, and cried out aloud, in their own country language, “THE SON COMETH” so those that were in its way stood off, and threw themselves down upon the ground; by which means, and by their thus guarding themselves, the stone fell down and did them no harm.

But the Romans contrived how to prevent that by blacking the stone, who then could aim at them with success, when the stone was not discerned beforehand, as it had been till then; and so they destroyed many of them at one blow.

Wars of the Jews
5, 6, 269-273

Note that in Hebrew son is "ben" and stone is "eben". The pun on these words used in the passage above was established earlier in the Gospels: 

"… and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as [our] father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up sons to Abraham from these stones.  

Matt 3: 9

29) Jerusalem encircled with a wall

Luke then describes Jesus “envisioning” the encircling of Jerusalem with a wall. Note that the overall pattern connects to a parallel that cannot be disputed. Scholars have always recognized that Luke 19:43 was dependant upon Josephus’ description of Jerusalem encircled with a wall, but heretofore have not seen the parallel in the overall pattern. The fact that the overall pattern directly connects to an incontrovertible parallel supports the premise that the pattern is deliberate.

"For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,

"and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  

  Luke 19:43-44

Josephus then describes Titus’ encircling of Jerusalem with a wall. This event has always been understood by scholars as the basis for Jesus’ prophecy above.

… they must build a wall round about the whole city; which was, he thought, the only way to prevent the Jews from coming out any way, and that then they would either entirely despair of saving the city, and so would surrender it up to him, or be still the more easily conquered when the famine had further weakened them;

for that besides this wall, he would not lie entirely at rest afterward, but would take care then to have banks raised again, when those that would oppose them were become weaker:

but that if any one should think such a work to be too great, and not to be finished without much difficulty, he ought to consider that it is not fit for Romans to undertake any small work, and that none but God himself could with ease accomplish any great thing whatsoever.

Wars of the Jews
, 5, 12, 499-501

30) Drive out the thieves from the temple

The final passage I shall present from the Luke/Josephus typological mapping requires little comment as, with the context established by this analysis, its symbolism is transparent. Following the “triumphal entrance” and the encircling of the city with a wall, Titus stormed the Temple. In other words, the “robbers” were driven out by the “son of man”.  Josephus and the Gospels each use the word “lestes” to describe the “robbers”.